Hi! This is something I had wondered about myself. Go to [url]www.ringosbeatlekits.com and look for the link "a snare so rare". It seems to really point to the fact that it is a 5.5x14. The entire site is pretty cool! Enjoy it!

Thanks for your note. That site is great. However, when I was speaking with Jack Lawton the other day about wanting to rewrap a 5.5" snare, he was of the opinion that it really should be a 5". Also, I've been told the Beatles Gear book reports it as a 5" as well. (I'm awaiting the delivery of my own copy of that book to double check.)

John

Ludwig seems to have varied the amount of wood that was removed for the edges/beds, and the snare shells tend to get shallower between the late 50's and late 60's. The most common size of Jazz Fest I've seen is 5 3/8". Late 50's and early 60's drums can be very deep, like 5 5/8". Toward the later 60's it's more common to see them right at 5" or around 5 1/4".

Here's a drum that was a bit over 5.5". It's a '64 Jazz Fest.

[IMG]http://www.classicvintagedrums.com/deep_ringo.jpg[/IMG]

And here's a '63 that was 5 3/8".

[IMG]http://www.classicvintagedrums.com/63_ringo.jpg[/IMG]

One clue that people mention as proof of Ringo's drum being 5.5 is that his strainer handle top was below the top rim, but this fails to take into account the fact that strainers were all over the place then, and it's normal to see them mounted high or low on a shell.

Another factor that contributes to his snare looking deeper is the Ludwig Weathermaster heads...they have very shallow collars, so the rims don't sit as low on the shell. ANY Jazz Fest looks deeper with original 60's Ludwig heads. And no, I don't buy that Ringo used calf on his snare, I believe he used the Ludwig heads that would have come with the drum.

In my opinion, Ringo's drum was most likely around 5 3/8", and possibly deeper, with the strainer mounted a bit lower than average, and with Ludwig Weathermaster heads. A 5" snare that early in the 60's would be very rare, and unlikely.

Thanks,

Bill

The only way to be 100% certain of the depth is to actually measure Ringo's drum! It could, in fact, be 5-3/8", as previously mentioned. Many times, shells were not as advertised, due to using up existing wood. I've got a Slingerland Student model 5-ply maple shell drum, that is supposed to be 5" deep. The actual depth is about 4-3/4"!! It's easy to tell that the edges have not been cut down in any way. I guess the bottom line is that a Jazz Festival snare drum could be anywhere from 5" and 5.5".